Automatic display-machine.



1. w. DUVAL.

AUTOMATIC DISPLAY MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED nc.2s. 1913.

Patented Ma1'.2 1,1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I W/r/wssc/ss.

ANOGRAP .CO-. \v INGTON n c 1. w. DUVA'L. AUTOMATIC DISPLAY MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-26.1913.

iatentd Mar. 21, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

flvmwrm lid/Du VA 1, M hm azg /Y WITNESSES.-

THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH cm, WASHINGTON. o. c.

J. w. DUVAL. AUTOMATIC DISPLAY MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-26. I913.

Patented Mar. 21, 1916.. Y

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

To all whom it may concern:

Iran srA'rngs PArn @FFTQE.

JOHN w. DUVAL, or Los ANGELES, oALIronNI ASSIGNOR T AUTOMATIC SELECTOR COMPANY, 025 LOS ANGELES, G.ALIFOR1\TIA, A CORPORATION or CALIFORNIA.

AUTOMATIC DISPLAY-MACHINE.

Be it known that I, JOHN W. DUVAL, a 611312811 of the United States, residing at the clty of Los Angeles, in the county of Los .Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Automatic Display-Machines, of which. the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a machine for displaying advertisements or other desired information in which the information is printed or otherwise mounted upon a series of roller curtains, preferably of fabric, each curtain being mounted uponan individual roller, and the object thereof is to provide a machine of that class which will automatically select and expose to view the curtain containing the desired information.

Another object'is to provide means for mounting maps and the like which are in constant use upon rollers whereby the operator may at will cause the desired map or the like to' be exposed to view. I accomplish this object by the device described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, in which: j

F igure 1 1s a side elevatlon partly 1n sec- 7 ti on of so much of my device as is necessary to illustrate my 111vent1onF1g. 2 1s a top plan of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a detail of one of the cur tain rollers; Fig. 4 isan end view of Fig. 3; Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are diagrammatic details of the selecting levers and their adjunct parts; Fig. 8 is a fragmentary detail of a portion of the locking bar; Figs. 9 and 10 are details of the reversing mechanism; Fig. 11 is a perspective detail of the trip leve'rs; Fig. 12 is a perspective of my complete mechanism; Fig. 13 isa detail of the switch mechanism. I

In .my preferred form my device consists of a casing or cabinet 15 having one end 17 thereof provided with hinges 18, in the central portion of the front face of which is mounted a transparent panel 16, preferably f v end 46" of each of which normally extends of glass. Near the inner side of theback of'the cabinet and near each side thereof are securely mounted vertically extending bearing plates or standards 19 and 20 which are secured at their ends to thetop and bottom of the cabinet. Standard 19 hasannular openings 21 extending therethrough at equally spaced intervals along a portion of its length in which are received annular bearings. 22a -Tll??? ince se-re; Br ade Patented Mar. 21, 1916.

Application filed December 26, 1913. Serial No. 808,689.

wrench is inserted when it is desired totighten or loosen the tension of the roller sprmg. A set screw 27 provides means for retaining these bearings in their adjusted posltlons. similar openings and bearings except that the sockets in bearings 22 are round and sockets 26 are omitted. At the edges of standards 19 and 20 nearest the back of the cabinet and near the lower ends thereof are mounted bearings 28 inwhich is revolubly mounted a rocking shaft 30. Shaft 30 has rigidly mounted thereon a plurality of rockmg levers 31, one end 32 of which is reduced in size and extends forwardly to about the vertical central line of standards 19 and 20. The other end of rocking lever 31 extends rearwardly and is pivotally secured in a cross-head 33. The other end of cross-head 33 is connected by a similar cross-head 34c to a link 35 which link is rigidly mounted on a selectingsarm shaft 36 intermediate the lecting arms38 and 39. The other ends of these selector arms extend forwardly and downwardly at an angle to near the front edges of, the standards where they terminatcin hooks 10 and 11. Rollers 25 have curtains 12 mounted-thereon in the usual well known manner, which curtains are provided at their free ends with curtain rods 43, the ends of which normally lie in recesses 44: in the front edges of standards 19 and 20 just above and in the path of hooks and 11 of selector arms38 and 39.

Standard 20 is provided with' On the front edges of standards 19 and i 20 and parallel with shaft 30 is rigidly mounted a shaft 45 on which are loosely mounted a plurality of trip levers 46, one

rearwardlv and downwardly at an angle to lever 31. The other end of each trip lever 46 normally extends upwardly and forwardly and terminates at a point just outside the path of operating bar 47, which bar is slidably mounted in bearings 48 secured to the front edges of the standards and slides vera side sta d 4 6? 9 tr e r.

46 has an outwardly extending ear or lug 50 which normally, lies in contact with one edge of an operating link 51 (Fig. 11). Link 51 is loosely mounted on shaft 45 at the side of lever 46 and has its free end pivotally connected with the inner 'end of key rod 52. The other end of key rod 52 is secured within the inner end of key bar 53, which key bar terminates in a finger piece '54 outside of the cabinet. A locking lever tively of casing 10 between the front of said casing and standards 19 and 20, and have rigidly mounted thereon near each end sprocket wheels 60 and 61 around which travel'sprocket chains 62 and 63. Chains 62 and 63 are provided with selector hooks 64 the use of which will be hereafter explained.

A motor 66 is mounted on suitable mountings within cabinet 15 and drives a jack shaft 67 by means of bevel gears 68 and 69. A friction pinion 70 is rigidly secured upon the lower end of shaft 67. A hub 71 having friction disks 7 2 and 7 3 secured at the ends thereof is slidably and non-revolubly mounted .on shaft 59, sothat one of the friction disks will be at each side of pinion 7 0, which disks are adapted to be brought into contact with pinion 70 to drive shaft 59 in the desired direction. 7

Hub 71 is provided with an annular groove 7 4 intermediate the ends thereof in which is received an annular collar 75. Collar 75 is provided with outwardly extending studs 76 which are received in the free ends of an operating yoke 77. The other'end of yoke 77 inner side of the front of the cabinet by screws or other suitable means to slide vertically.

The motor66 is operated by means of a switch 83 mounted upon one side of the casing one post 84 of which is connected to the motor and the other post 85 is connected to a supply wire in the usual well known way.

Switch 83 has oneend pivotally connected to post 8% and then extends forwardly to near the front of the cabinet and terminates in a downwardly disposed hook 86. A coil spring 87 has one end connected tothe free end of switch 83 and the other end secured to" the side of the cabinet and is adapted to normally hold said switch from engagement with post 85. A retaining hook 88 pivot-H ally mounted on the inner side of casing 15, the upper hooked end of which isadapt'ed to engage the hooked end 86. of switc'l183 and holds the same in operative engagement with post against the power of spring 87 when ing rod 89 has a slot 90 in the upper end] thereof through which passes a studor'pin 91 secured near the end of switch 83, and

said stud extends downwardly therefrom and the lower end thereof is pivotally con-' nected to the free end of a link member 92; The other end of link 92 is rigidly mounted upon one end of shaft 93. Shaft 93 extends from side to side of the cabinet and is revolubly mounted in bearings secured to thef95 sides thereof. Switch operating members 94 are rigidly mounted on shaft 93 just above key rods 52, there being one operating memher for each key rod. These operating members extend downwardly from shaft 93 to a" point just above the key rods so that when the key rods are pressed inwardly the collars inwardly and rock" shaft 93.

In the operation of my device it will be understood that there will always be one curtain unrolled andexposed to view. hen the key is pressed shaft 93 will be rocked as before described. This causes link 92 to pull rod 89 downwardly and by means of pin 91 52 on said key rods will move the lower ends f V of said operating members draws switch 83 into contact with post 85 and completes the circuit and starts th'e'motor. When switch 83 is drawn down hook 88 will then engage the hooked end 86 of switch 83 and hold the same in its operative position. At the same time link 51 is given a partial rotation which carries trip lever 4C61nto the position shown in Fig. 6 and is locked in that position by locking bar 82 which is received in a slot in the lower side of the key bar. As the motor starts it will rotate the operating shaft and sprockets to the left. on their respective chains to travel upwardly and then over sprockets 61' and then downwardlyand allows curtain 42'to be rolled upon its roller in the usual well known manner. Further downward travel of the 139' selector hooks will cause hem'to strike and This causes the selector hooks 64: r

depress operating bar 47 which bar will operate the friction clutch mechanism and reverse the direction of rotation of the operating shaft 59. Bar 47 will also strike and depress the end of trip lever 46 to the position shown in Fig. 7. These movements will cause the end 46* of said lever to strike and elevate the end 32 of rocking lever 31 which last movement will cause said lever 31 to rock on its shaft and through cross heads '33 and 34 and their connecting rod .will rock shaft 36 and will elevate the outer end of se- 'lector arms 38 and 39 and will draw the curtain rod 43 into the upward path of selector hooks 64:. Hooks 64 will on their upward travel engage rod 43 and carry the same up over roller 58 mounted on the upper shaft 58 and then downwardly adjacent the inner face of the transparent panel 1-6. Chain 63 has one of the pivot pins which connect the links extending outwardly from the side thereof. This pin is near to and in advance of the selector hooks and is adapted to strike member 88 of hook 88 and withdraws hook 88 from engagement with the hooked end 86 of switch 83. Spring 87 will then act to withdraw switch 83 from contact with post 85 and breaks the circuit of the motor. At the time the motor circuit is broken hooks 64 are in close proximity to locking bar 82 and the momentum of the motor and the other moving parts causes the further travel of said hooks to depress bar 82 and release it from the slot in the key rod.. The key rod and connected parts are then returned to normal positions. it to engagearm 80 of yoke 7 7 and shift said yoke to change the direction of rotation of shaft 59 when the machine is again operated. 7 Having described my invention What I claim is:

1. In an advertising machine a cabinet having an opening in the front wall thereof; a transparent panel in said opening; rollers journaled in said cabinet intermediate the panel and the rear wall of the cabinet; curtains .mounted on 7 said rollers adapted to have printed thereon advertising matter;

traveling means adapted to move any one of said curtains into View through said panel; a motive device for said traveling means; selector means operated by said traveling means to select any desired curtain and causethesame to be engaged by said traveling means; and an independent manually controlled device constructed and arranged to set said motive device in motion and to position the selector means for engagement withthe traveling means.

2. An advertising device comprising a cabinet; spring retracted rollers mounted in stationary bearings in said'cabinet; curtains wound around said rollers; traveling means adapted to engage the free end of any one 7 of said curtains and the, same; ,a

The depression of bar 82 causes ment with the traveling means upon the operation of the controlling means; and means to arrest the operation of said motive device when a curtain is fully displayed.

3. An advertising device comprising a cabinet; rollers journaled in stationary bearings in said cabinet; curtains wound upon said rollers; traveling means adapted to engage the free ends of said curtains and unwind the same; selector means operated by the unwinding meansadapted to move the free ends of said curtains into engagement with the unwinding means; manually controlled devices adapted to set in motion said traveling means and to position the selector means for engagement therewlth; and means operated by the traveling means to arrest the movement of said traveling means when acurtain is fully displayed.

.4. In a display machine a cabinet having an opening in the front wall thereof; a transparent panel in said opening; spring rollers journaled in stationary hearings in said cabinet; curtains wound upon saidrollers adapted to have printed thereon advertising matter; a rod secured to the free end of each of said curtains; operating shafts journaled in said cabinet above and below said rollers; a motive device for said operating shafts adapted to rotate said shafts; sprocket wheels mounted on said shafts; sprocket chains connecting said sprocket wheels; selector hooks mounted on said chains adapted to engage the rods in the free ends of the curtains and unroll the same; selector arms pivotally mounted in said cabinet adapted to move the free ends of the curtains into the path of the selector hooks; means operated by the selector hooks adapted to operate said selector arms; and means operated by said sprocket chain to stop the motive device when a curtain is fully displayed.

5. An advertising device comprising a casing having an opening in the front thereof; a plurality of spring retracted rollers journaled in stationary bearings in said casing; curtains winding on said rollers; travelingrmeans adapted to operate in one direction to unwind said curtains and in a reverse direction to rewind the same; a motive device for said traveling means; selec tor mechanism operated by said traveling means adapted to move the free ends of said curtains into position for engagement with said traveling means; an independent manually. controlled device for eachof saidrollers adapted to set in motion said motive device upon the operation of said controlling meansmeans operated by said manually controlled device adapted to move said selector mechanism into position for ennormal position; and means operated by the traveling means to arrest the movement of the motive device.

6. An advertising device comprising a casing having an opening in the front thereof; a plurality of rollers journaled in said casing; curtains Winding on said rollers; traveling means adapted to operate in one direction to unwind said curtains and in a reverse direction to rewind the same; a

motive device, for said traveling means; means operated by said traveling means to cause the same to travel first in one and then in a reverse direction; selector mechanism operated by said traveling means adapted to move the free ends of said curtains into position for engagement with said traveling means; a series of independent manually controlled devices adapted to set in motion said motive device upon the operation of the controlling means and to move the selector mechanism into position to be engaged by the traveling means; means to lock said manually controlled devices in their operative position; and means operated by the traveling means to arrest the movement of'said motive device when a curtain is fully displayed. 7

7. In a display machine a cabinet having an opening in the front Wall thereof; a transparent panel in said opening; a plurality of rollers mounted in stationary bearings in said cabinet; a curtain Wound on each of said rollers; manually controlled means to cause any one of said curtains to be selected for display; traveling means set in motion by said selector means to unwind said selected curtain and expose the same through said panel; and means operated by said traveling means to arrest the same When a curtain is fully displayed.

8. A mechanical directory vcomprising a casing having an opening in the front Wall thereof; a plurality of rollers journaled therein; curtains secured at one end to said rollers and Wound thereon, there being one curtain for each roller, said curtains having their free ends adapted to be moved into engagement with an unwinding means; unwinding means for said curtains comprising intermittently moving belts one at each end of said rollers; selector hooks secured to said belts adapted to engage the free ends of said curtains; means to move said belts first-inflnemnd theuin-a reverse-direction;-

masses manually controlled means to selectany one:

of said curtains for display; means operated by said selector means to set in mot-ionthe unwinding means upon the operation of-the controlling means; and means operated by the'unvvinding means to cause the selector means to move the free end of the selected curtain into the path of movementof said selector hooks whereby said hooks engage the free end and unrol-l the cui'tain and] means to arrest the movement ofsa d un-g when a ar-mi s fully d1s- Winding means played.

9. In a display machine rollers revolubly mounted in stationary bearings; curtains Wound around said roll ers; means to actuate any desired curtain;

a plurality of, 7

manually operated means to select any one" casing having an opening in the front Wall thereof; a transparent panel in said openmg; a plurality of rollers journaled in sa d casing; a curtain wound around each of said rollers; a rod inthe free end ofeach or" said curtains; a motive dev ce adapted to operate in one direction to unwind said curtains and in a reverse directionto rewind. the same;

selector mechanism operated'by said'motive device in its rewinding-movement tomove the free end of the; selected curtaiirinto a;

osition to be en a ed b' said'motive de vice on its returnmovement; an independ-,

ent manually controlleddevice for each of" said curtains adapted to set the motive device in operation'to rewind the curtains the controlling. means; means operated by said controlling upon the operation of means adapted to move said selector mechanism'into position for engagement with the mot ve device; means to lock said manually controlled devlce 1n 1ts operatlve posis tion; meansoperated by said motive device 7 in its revvindingmovement to cause thesame to travel 1n a reverse direction; 'meansgoperated by said motive device in its reverse I movement to arrest the movementthereof;

and means operated by the motive device to I release said manually controlled device.

11. A mechanicaldirectory comprising a casing having an opening 111 the front thereof; a plurality of rollers journaledin said cas ng; a curtain windingon each ofsaid rollers; a rod in thefree end of each of said curtains; actuatmg'means for saldcurtains;

a motive device for said actuating means;

transmission mechanism connecting said mo I -t1ve devme notu'atmgmeans" adaptedto' cause said actuating means to travel first in one and then in a reverse'direction; selector mechanism for each of said rollers operated by said actuating means adapted to move the free end of said selected curtain into engagement with said actuating means; an independent manually controlled device constructed and arranged to set said motive device in operation upon the operation of the controlling means and to position the selector mechanism in position to be operated by the actuating means; means operated by said curtain actuating means to operate said transmission mechanism; and means operated by said actuating means to arrest the movement of said motive device when a curtain is fully displayed.

12. A mechanical directory comprising a casing; a plurality of rollers journaled therein; a curtain winding on each of said rollers; a rod in the free end ofeach of said curtains; traveling means adapted to operate in one direction to unwind said curtains and in a reverse direction to rewind the same; a motive device for said traveling means; selector mechanism operated by said traveling means adapted to move the free end of said curtains into position for engagement with said traveling means; a

manually operated device for each of said' rollers adapted to set in motion said motive device and to move the selector mechanism into position for engagement with the traveling means; means to lock said selector mechanism in its operative position; means to lock said manually operated device in its operated position; means operated by the traveling means adapted to cause the same to travel in a reverse direction; means operated by said traveling means in its reverse direction adapted to release the selector mechanism and to restore the same to normal position; means operated by said traveling means to release said manually operated device; and means operated by said traveling means to stop the movement of said motive device when a curtain is fully displayed.

13. A-mechanical directory comprising a casing; a plurality of rollers journaled therein; a curtain winding on each of said rollers; traveling means adapted to operate in one direction to unwind said curtains and in a reverse direction to rewind the same; a motive device for said traveling means; selector mechanism adapted to be operated by said traveling means in its unwinding movement to move the free end of any desired curtain into position for engagement with the traveling means; means to lock said selector mechanism in its operated position; an independent manually controlled device for each of said rollers adapted to set in motion said motive device to rewind said curtains and to move the selector mechanism into position to be operated by the traveling means; means to lock said manually controlled device in its operated position; means operated by said traveling means in its rewinding movement to cause the same to travel in a reverse direction to unwind said curtains; means operated by said traveling means in its unwinding movement to release the selector mechanism; means operated by said traveling means in its unwinding movement adapted to release said manu ally controlled device; means operated by the traveling means in its unwinding movement to arrest the movement of said motive device; and means operated by said traveling means in its unwinding movement to cause said traveling means to travel in a reverse direction upon the operation of said manually controlled device.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 25th day of November, 1913.

JOHN W. DUVAL.

Witnesses: FRANK WATERFLELD,

*1 LUoLA A. bwAN.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). G. 

